


Camp Victory

by thenathanshow



Category: USWNT - Fandom, Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, F/F, Fluff and Angst, USWNT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21787072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenathanshow/pseuds/thenathanshow
Summary: Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan, Christen Press, and Kelley O'Hara have been going to Camp Victory since their freshman years in high school. The four are upperclassmen in college now, and will have to adjust to being camp counselors instead of campers. Alex and Kelley make it their personal mission to get Tobin and Christen together by the end of the summer, but the challenge isn't as easy as they thought.
Relationships: Alex Morgan/Kelley O'Hara, Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger, Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 14
Kudos: 112





	1. otw

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy!  
> This fic has been chillin in my Google Docs since August, and I'm just now finishing chapter one while trying to write chapter 14 of my other fic, Houses! If you haven't checked that one out, you definitely should :)  
> This idea was brought to you by: the WoSo discord I'm apart of!  
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy chapter 1 of Camp Victory.

Christen had been waiting on Kelley for about ten minutes now. It wasn’t like Kelley didn’t know what time they were supposed to leave, or when she was supposed to wake up. They had recently rented a small house together, so Kelley had no excuse. Christen knew for a fact that Kelley heard the multiple alarms Christen had set. She knew for a fact that Kelley ignored them. She also knew for a fact that Kelley would not hear the end of it if they missed their flight because of her lazy ass.

Christen considered honking her car horn, but opted to lecture Kelley on the way to the airport. She didn’t want to wake up their neighbors and leave a bad first impression. The longer she had to wait for her roommate, the more anxious she felt. She had planned everything to a T. It was about a 45 minute drive to San Francisco, and then they had to be at the airport two hours before their flight. Before Christen could overthink it too much, Kelley frantically sprinted out of the house with a duffel bag on her shoulder and a suitcase being dragged behind her. Christen got out of the car to help the hectic brunette, taking her duffel bag and tossing it in the backseat while Kelley opened the trunk. Christen glanced at the front of their house, seeing red as she realized their door was wide open.

“GO CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR!” She yelled at Kelley, yanking the suitcase out of her hands and practically shoving her back towards the one story home. Christen took care of the suitcase and got back in the car, doing her best to compose herself before Kelley came back. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that angry before. It was fucking terrifying.”

“Maybe that’ll teach you to follow the schedule. You’re damn lucky I added some cushion time just in case you decided to drag your feet.”

“I was not dragging my feet, Chris.”

“You’re right. You weren’t dragging your feet because you were still in bed.”

Kelley rolled her eyes and slouched, throwing her feet on the dashboard in front of her. “We’ll be fine. You said we have extra time, right? So there’s nothing to worry about!”

Christen swatted at her legs. “I just got the interior cleaned! No shoes on the dashboard.”

She smirked and took off her shoes, setting them on the floor of the car and putting her feet back on the dashboard. “Heard.”

Christen shook her head and focused on the road. There was no use entertaining her best friend, who she knew was messing with her on purpose to lighten the mood. 

“Kelley, I love you, but if this is what it’s going to be like living with you, I’ll have to move out before I die of a stress-induced stroke.” 

The freckled girl laughed. “It’s all apart of my charm, Pressi.”

“I don’t think you know what charm means. Get your nasty feet off of my dashboard.”

“But I’m comfortable!” She whined. Christen glared at her, which scared Kelley into doing what she was told. “Can I atleast have free reign over the music?” She asked, holding up Christen’s AUX cord.

“Fine, but nothing too stressful, please. It’s early and my blood pressure is already high enough because of you.”

“Things will work out, I promise. We won’t be late. You worry too much,” She reassured, plugging the cord into her phone.

“And you worry too little.”

“Anyway,” Kelley rolled her eyes. “Are you ready for camp?”

“I’m kind of nervous, to be completely honest. I’m so used to being the camper, but now I’m gonna be a counselor.”

“This wouldn’t be your first year if you had gone last summer. That internship could’ve waited.”

“No, it really couldn’t have. I don’t think you know how internships work.”

“Well, what I do know is that Tobin really missed you,” Kelley teased, scrolling through her playlist to choose the perfect song.

“I know what you’re doing, and I’m not falling for it. I don’t understand why you think we’re destined to be together or whatever.” Christen waved her hand. Kelley was looking too far into things that weren’t even there. Tobin and Christen were just really good friends who enjoyed spending time together and missed each other when they were separated. They were just really good friends who wrote each other letters during the school year. They were just really, really good friends. Why couldn’t Kelley understand that?

“If you’d pay attention, you’d notice the signs right in front of you. It’s so obvious, Pressi. Every time she looks at you, she’s got heart eyes. But maybe you can’t see it because you’re too busy drooling over her every time she’s within thirty feet of you.”

“That’s not true, I do not drool over anybody.” Christen rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for that. I’ve gotta keep my grades up and stay focused on tennis.”

“Ya know, if I can maintain my grades, keep my rugby scholarship, AND find time to mess around, so can you.” 

“You seem to forget we are entirely different people-”

“Which is why we work so well together!” Kelley exclaimed, holding her hand out for Christen to hold. 

“I don’t know about that,” Christen huffed as she reluctantly intertwined her fingers with her best friend. 

“But yeah, I don’t know why you’re denying the truth. You and Tobin should be together!”

“I swear to God.”

“Listen, just think about it. You guys are always on the phone together, whether it be texting, calling, falling asleep on FaceTime-”

“We do NOT fall asleep on FaceTime!”

“Pressi, yes you do.”

“Kelley, no we don’t.”

“Hm, I’m sure your FaceTime call history would beg to differ. You wouldn’t mind if I checked, would you?” She reached for Christen’s phone with her free hand.

“Touch my phone, Kelley. Really, go ahead. It’ll work out great for you.”

She stopped mid-reach, terrified of her best friend all over again. The last time Kelley pissed off Christen this much was when they were first time campers and Kelley “accidentally” flipped Christen’s canoe over. 

“Alright, alright. Since you’re blinded by love, I’ll make it my personal mission to be your wingman. Preath will prevail!” She pumped her fist in the air.

“I’m sorry, who will prevail?”

“Preath. It’s Press and Heath combined. Your ship name, if you will.” She explained.

Christen sighed. “You’ve really put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?”

“Only because it bothers the hell out of Alex and I that you two like each other, but won’t make any moves. Just ask her out already!”

“You and Alex, huh? And how’s that working out for you?” Christen scoffed, turning the tables. She knew for a fact that Alex Morgan and Kelley were involved in some strange, complicated way that had more emphasis on sex than it did romantic feelings.

“Pressi, you know there’s nothing between Alex and I. Don’t be ridiculous.” She scoffed, adjusting her posture.

“Now that’s hilarious. You seem to forget about how I came across pretty explicit messages-”

“OKAY OKAY OKAY!” Kelley yelled, cutting off Christen. If she had to relive one of the most embarrasing moments of her life, she’d take control of the car and swerve it into a tree. “There’s something. There, I said it. But my situation is completely different from yours. You and Tobin have the stupidest high school crushes on each other. Alex and I, however, well, that’s something I can’t explain in front of the kids.” Kelley smirked to herself. 

“Kelley, for the last time, I do not like Tobin. She’s just a friend.”

“A friend that you want to kiss!”

“You’re such a child.” There was no use arguing with Kelley. Once she had her mind set on something, Christen knew she’d do everything possible to make it happen.

And as much as she hated the idea of Kelley meddling in her love life, she knew she needed all the help she could get. She liked the way Preath sounded.

“Why are planes always so cold?” Tobin asked to no one in particular as she sat down next to her best friend, Alex Morgan. 

“I told you to bring a jacket. Nobody ever listens to me,” she muttered the last part to herself as she unzipped her backpack to take a blanket out. 

“You plan on sharing that, right?”

Alex had to laugh.

“Not at all. Once again, I told you not to wear shorts and a t-shirt. I told you to bring a plane blanket. I told you many things, all of them which you ignored.”

Tobin rubbed her hands on her thighs, trying to come up with some warmth. “If I say you’re always right, will you share the blanket?”

“You can’t just say it, you have to admit it. Say it with your chest.”

“Lex, come on. I’m cold!” Tobin shoved her goosebump covered arm in Alex’s face, as if that would help her case.The blue eyed girl rolled her eyes and adjusted the thin, pink headband she was wearing. She had warned her about wearing those damn yellow shorts. 

“I don’t care. Admit I’m right or freeze to death. Keep in mind, we’re on this plane for five hours. The choice is yours.”

Tobin sighed. “Fine. You’re always right and I should listen to you more often. Give me the damn blanket.”

Alex smiled in victory as she tossed half of the blanket on the taller girl’s lap. She would’ve shared eventually, but she liked to mess with Tobin. That was their dynamic; Alex being more prepared and assertive, while Tobin adopted a “go with the flow” attitude which usually flowed in the direction of Alex helping Tobin when she needed it. Sometimes, Tobin was too relaxed. 

“What would you do without me?” Alex joked.

“I’d probably be pretty cold right now, for one.”

“You’d also probably be stuck living in the dorms for another year.”

“That too, thanks, by the way,” Tobin thanked. Alex had been apartment hunting for the two of them for the past year. She knew exactly what to look for, she knew exactly what she wanted, and she made sure Tobin knew how much she was responsible for, since both of their names were on the lease. At first, Alex tried to involve Tobin as much as she could, but soon realized her best friend had no idea what was happening. All she could contribute was, “That one looks cool,” or, “Sounds good to me,”. 

“Not a problem. You excited?”

“Oh yeah. I hated the community bathrooms. I lost count of all the razors I almost stepped on.”

“I meant about camp, but that too, I guess,” Alex rolled her eyes.

“You should’ve clarified.” She nudged her elbow into Alex’s bicep before continuing. “I am pretty excited, especially since Chris is gonna be there,” She admitted the latter half more so to herself. Last summer was the first time Christen wasn’t there. All of them, Alex, Tobin, Kelley, and Christen had been going to Camp Victory since they were first eligible to attend. Originally, it was just Tobin, Kelley, and Christen. Alex was younger than the three, but they adopted her into their squad. It was weird without Christen, a core member of the four, and Tobin’s heart ached more than it did during the school year. Campers weren’t allowed to have any electronics, so the only way they could communicate with the outside world was through Snail Mail. Tobin thought she wouldn’t hear from Christen at all, but she remembers all too well how over the moon she was when she saw a letter addressed to her in Christen’s handwriting waiting for her on her pillow. Granted, she had written all three of them letters throughout the summer, but the letters hadn’t stopped even when she returned back to Chapel Hill, North Carolina with Alex. Alex and Kelley pretended to be jealous that they weren’t getting letters, but they knew better than to point it out more than that. Tobin tried not to look into it too much, but she couldn’t ignore how her heart sailed every time she checked the mail to see Christen’s letter, and how warm their FaceTime calls made her feel inside.

But Chris could never know that.

“It was pretty strange without her, wasn’t it?” Alex asked.

Tobin nodded, remembering how empty she felt that summer. Sure, Lex and Kel were there still, but it wasn’t the same. They knew it, too.

“It sucked for us, but I’m glad she took the internship. We both know how much she wants to go into Sports Marketing. On the bright side, she’s back now! So that’s cool,” Tobin downplayed.

“You should go for it, you know.”

Her eyes widened at Alex’s suggestion. “Lex, no way. She doesn’t like me like that, we’re just friends. Everybody knows that,” She admitted with defeat.

“No! What everybody knows is that you two are head over heels in love with each other and have been for years, but you’re both too scared to make the first move. It’s so God damn obvious!” Alex exclaimed.

“Mommy, she said a bad word,” A little boy in front of them said to the older woman sitting next to him. 

“Just ignore them, sweetheart,” She told him before turning her head to glare at Alex before going back to her magazine. Tobin and Alex shared a look before bursting with laughter. Once they were able to contain themselves, Tobin went right back to their conversation.

“The only thing that’s obvious is how much she doesn’t like me like that.”

Alex felt bad for Tobin, she really did. She sighed when she saw how dejected Tobin’s demeanor had become. Kelley and her had been talking about how to get Tobs and Chris together in the months leading up to June. It needed to happen. They were getting tired of their oblivious friends denying the truth of the situation; that they liked each other. They had determined that the root of the issue was Christen, although they would never tell her that to her face. Tobin had at least accepted her feelings for Christen. There was no use denying that every time Chris was even mentioned, her face felt hot and her stomach did backflips. Tobin knew that she wanted to be with Christen. She knew that from the first time she met her, all those years ago. It was useless, though, or so Tobin thought. And that was the other issue Alex and Kelley had discovered; Tobin had already given up.

“I promise you, by the end of the summer, you and Christen will be together. That’s a Patented Kelley O’Hara and Alex Morgan gurantee.”

Tobin scoffed at that. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Just let us do our magic, okay? Anyway,” Alex undid the latch on the back of the seat in front of her and pulled down her table, setting her iPad on it. She reminded herself to thank her mom for buying her this convenient case, or else she would have to prop up the device herself the entire flight. She was strong, but it was terribly inconvenient.

“What movie do you wanna watch? We’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”


	2. familiar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi
> 
> we back with another chapter!
> 
> enjoy :)

“You should rate him five stars,” Tobin suggested as her and Alex’s Uber drove off, leaving them in front of Camp Victory’s headquarters. 

“Absolutely not. He took an extra long route to make the ride cost more, which made us late for counselor check-in. He’s getting three at best.”

Tobin shrugged as she adjusted the strap of her duffel bag so it laid as comfortably as it could be on her shoulder. She took a deep breath as they approached the ginormous cabin, knowing they’d get a talking to for not being on time. 

After they checked in, they parted ways. Tobin headed to the soccer counselor’s cabin, while Alex walked to where the volleyball counselor’s were staying. While they were eager to reunite with Kel and Chris, they knew they had to unpack first. Counselor training started soon.

“You finally made it!” Megan exclaimed when Tobin entered the cabin, pulling her into a quick hug. “Hey, Pinoe. New hair?”

“I dyed it pink just for camp. You like it?” She asked, changing between poses to dramatically show off her bubblegum hair.

“We thought you’d bailed on us, Heath,” Ashlyn, the head soccer counselor, said as she walked to Tobin and gave her a quick, one armed embrace as well. 

“No, just fashionably late. Wasn’t our fault, though. The Uber guy took us the long way, you know how it is.” 

“Well, we’re glad you made it. Pinoe and I were just about to go pass the ball around, but we can make room for one more if you wanna join,” Ashlyn offered, tossing the soccer ball in her hand in the air.

“Maybe later. I’ve got all this to unpack. Which bed is mine?” 

“You can take that one,” Ashlyn pointed to an empty top bunk. “Or that one,” She gestured to an empty bottom bunk. “I’d be careful about that one, though. I heard Pinoe drools in her sleep. Wouldn’t wanna wake up to that.”

“Oh shut up!” Pinoe laughed, stealing the ball from Ashlyn and dribbling it out of the cabin.

“Congrats on graduating, by the way! You’ve got a job lined up or something?” Tobin asked as she headed to the bottom bunk. She figured it would be easier to make a bed that was closer to the ground.

“Well, I’m actually going pro. Got drafted in January.”

Tobin’s jaw dropped when she processed Ashlyn’s words.

“No way! That’s amazing! What team?” Tobin set her duffel bag on her new bed and turned back around to face her blonde friend. 

“Orlando Pride, baby. Florida couldn’t get rid of me that easy,” She chuckled as she leaned against her bedpost. “You could go pro, too. I’m sure you’re already being talked about. You’re talented as Hell, Heath. You’re doing amazing things at UNC. You’d be a fool not to try and play in the big leagues. I’m sure Christen would follow you wherever you go.”

Tobin perked up at the sound of Chris’ name, but was confused at what she meant. “Follow? Why would she follow me?” She unzipped her duffel bag and started shoving her haphazardly folded shirts into the first drawer her eye caught.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you and her a thing?”

Tobin’s heart sunk. She fought the urge to say, “I wish”.

“No.”

“Oh,” Ashlyn cleared her throat, acknowledging her mistake and letting a heavy silence fall over them. She kicked herself for assuming, especially when Ali had told her not to bring it up. Apparently, Ashlyn was the only one out of the loop. Everyone knew Tobin had the biggest crush on Christen; it was common knowledge. But everyone also knew that Christen either didn’t see it, or didn’t feel it. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. See you later, Heath.”

“See ya.”

Tobin immediately chewed on Ashlyn’s words. Could she really make it as a professional soccer player? It had only been her dream since she was born; to play professionally. She avidly followed the National Women’s Soccer League, as well as the FA Women’s Super League when she could. She’d been called up to train and play with various youth teams, but had only trained with the senior team once. She made sure to stay humble, even when she got the call that she could potentially play on the senior team. While playing professionally was all she wanted, she had to remain realistic...but wait...Ashlyn thought her and Chris were...dating? What? She shook the question out of her head as she finished shoving her clothes into drawers. She shoved her duffel bag under her bed and unzipped her suitcase, doing the same. She thought back to Alex’s stupid promise on the plane. She didn’t want to get her hopes up for something that had the slimmest chance of happening. She let out a loud sigh as she tossed her cleats on the floor. She finished unpacking as soon as she started. She had brought a lot of clothes and such, but as long as she generally knew where her things were, she didn’t care if they were jumbled together in a drawer. They were gonna get dirty, anyway. She made her bed, slipped her suitcase under her bed next to her duffel bag, and took a deep breath before heading to the tennis counselor’s cabin to find Christen.

“Sorry, I thought this was the rugby cabin,” Kelley joked when she saw Alex putting neatly folded shirts into a drawer. Alex knew that voice all too well, and immediately spun around with a smile.

“Hey! Long time no see!” She exclaimed excitedly, pulling Kelley into a tight hug as soon as she was within reach. 

“It’s not like you to be late. It was Tobin, wasn’t it?”

Alex laughed at that. “No, no. It was the Uber driver, actually.” It was then that both of them realized their arms were still loosely around each other, even though they weren’t hugging anymore. Alex cleared her throat and stepped back, ignoring the unfamiliar blush creeping on her cheeks and going back to her unpacking.

“Did you come in here to stare at me or are you gonna help me with this?”

“Do I have to?” Kelley whined, doing her best to restore their usual banter. She didn’t know why her throat was so dry, or why she suddenly felt nervous. Maybe it was her piercing blue eyes, or maybe it was the warmth of her touch. Maybe Kelley just needed to get it together. She hadn’t seen her friend in months, of course she would be a little nervous. That was normal, right?

“You don’t have to do anything, but I would appreciate the help.”

Kelley couldn’t argue with that, so she took a shirt Alex handed her and put it in it’s proper place.

“So, how’d it go with Press?” Alex asked.

Kelley sighed, a bit frustrated with how stubborn her best friend was. “Not well. She doesn’t see it, like, at all. She just thinks they’re great friends. It’s like she refuses to even consider the possibility. I don’t know how she doesn’t see it.”

“Same with Tobin, but add more angst and sadness. She’s like a sad puppy in love…” Alex trailed off, cocking her head slightly and furrowing her eyebrows together. “And you’re SURE Press likes Tobin? Like, it’s not just a theory?” 

“Are you doubting my investigative skills? Who’s the STEM major here?” Kelley scoffed.

“I just don’t want to make Tobs more sad than she already is about the whole thing. It’s depressing.” Alex put her last shirt away and moved onto her shorts. 

“If I tell you how I know, will you judge me? It was for the greater good, I promise!” 

“I feel like you’re gonna tell me anyway, regardless of my judgement.”

“Okay, well...I might have read Pressi’s journal.” 

“Kelley Maureen O’Hara, you WHAT?”

Kelley wanted to feel guilty about snooping through her friend’s diary, and while she definitely got more than she bargained for, she figured out what she wanted to know. Just like Kelley suspected, there was more than one entry written about Tobin and how...special...their relationship is. She wrote about how she cherished their “traditions” and how safe she feels with her. And if that wasn’t confirmation enough, Kelley had read the words, “I think I’m in love with Tobin Powell Heath” in Christen’s neat, organized handwriting.

“You invaded Christen’s privacy for this?” Alex asked after she listened to Kelley try and justify her poor choices.

“When you phrase it like that, it sounds bad. I prefer to say...I investigated thoroughly and came back with enough evidence to prove our case. Without me, Operation Preath would be a flop. You should be thanking me, really.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “You’re terrible, you know that? Put these away.” 

“But you keep coming back for more,” Kelley winked at Alex before placing her shorts in the open drawer. She made comments like that all the time, but for some reason, it felt different then. It felt oddly vunerable, as if she were proposing something more. She pretended the weird ache she felt weren’t happening.

And yet, Alex felt it too. Kelley’s comment struck a different chord within her. For some reason, it made her stomach do weird turns, and she felt her cheeks heat up, yet again. She turned to face her freckled friend and saw her infamous smirk, which reassured Alex that she was overreacting. The knots in her stomach slowly untangled (she took a mental note to overanalyze this later) as Kelley grabbed the rest of Alex’s bottoms and shoved them in the drawer, closing it with her hip.

“Kel, what’re you doing?”

“We can finish that later,” She responded, turning towards the taller girl and inching closer to her. They had done this a million times before. The taste of each others lips were as familiar as the scent of a childhood home, but they both knew it was different this time. This time, Alex admired each and every freckle that dotted Kelley’s face. She admired the golden flecks in her hazel eyes, and how some strands of her hair were lighter than others. This time, Kelley admired how perfect and sunkissed Alex’s skin was. She admired how her shirt fell perfectly over her toned torso. Alex was flawless; this was a well known fact. But it hadn’t hit her until that very moment. It was overwhelming, to say the least. This time, they could feel the strings forming as their lips locked. There was a certain sweetness that replaced the usual lust. It was electric, it was new, and as they fell together for what was the billionth time over the years, it felt like the first.

Christen had a system. When she got camp, she would check in just like everyone else. She’d take her belongings and claim the bottom bunk on the second set of bunk beds. She discovered how much she hated how cold the metal ladder rungs felt under her feet during her first summer at Camp Victory, so she made sure to never make that mistake again. It was her first time as a tennis counselor, but the tennis cabin wasn’t foreign to her. The head counselor, Becky, had taken her in there plenty of times, so when it was finally her turn to live in there, she told Becky to reserve her bunk. 

She would take her sheets and put them on the mattress, but not before putting her earbuds in to listen to music. After smoothing out the wrinkles and making sure it was secure, she would then gently rest the top sheet on the surface. She’d rinse and repeat until her bed was made, pillows fluffed, all to her standard of perfection. Once that was done, she’d open her suitcase and start refolding every item of clothing she brought. Yes, it was tedious, but it was soothing. Knowing her clothes would be organized and crisp brought her a certain peace of mind that was hard to get at a summer camp. This was her system. Of course she’d greet her cabinmates- she wasn’t a monster. But once she started unpacking, Becky and Rose knew better than to try and break her concentration. After going to camp with her for years, they both knew her system all too well, so when Rose saw Tobin making her way to the tennis cabin, she did her best to stop her.

“H-Hey! Tobin!” Rose yelled, rushing to the front door of the cabin, effectively blocking the taller girl’s path.

“Hey Rose, what’s up? How was your first year of college?”

“It was, ah, it was pretty good! There were some ups and downs, but overall, it was good, yeah.”

“And you’re majoring in...psychology?”

“Sociology, but close enough.”

Tobin nodded with a smile, acknowledging that the small talk was subsiding. “It was nice talking to ya!” She tried to side step Rose, but was met with Rose blocking her path, yet again.

“So, uh, Christen’s in there going through the motions.”

“She’s going through the what?” Tobin’s eyes widened in confusion, or concern, or fear. Rose didn’t know which, but it was one of those.

“No! No! I just meant that she’s got her system, you know? It’s best not to bother her right now.”

“Is she like...what is she...I’m a little lost. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine! She’s just in the zone. She hates it when people interrupt her. I made that mistake once...it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life.” Rose shuddered at the memory. 

“You make it sound like she ripped you a new one,” Tobin laughed. When she saw that Rose remained quiet, Tobin stifled her laughter immediately.

“She did. Verbally, of course. She didn’t literally...that would be impossible...well, would it be? Actually…” Rose considered the thought. 

“Well, this was nice. Thanks for the warning, I appreciate it. I think I can handle her, though. See you later.” Tobin reached out to give Rose a quick fist bump before swiftly maneuvering around her and entering the tennis cabin. Rose shrugged her shoulders. She tried her best to warn Tobin, so it wasn’t her fault. Well, it wouldn’t have been her fault to begin with, but she was just trying to keep Tobin unscathed and Christen uninterrupted. “Oh well,” She sighed as she went to hunt down Sonnett and Sam. She had to ask them if it was possible to quite literally rip someone a new one. The concept was grossly intriguing. 

Tobin closed the door behind her as quietly as she could. Christen’s back was to her, subtlely bobbing her head to her music as she refolded a shirt for the third time. Tobin admired her attention to detail. She had only roomed (cabined?) with Chris once before. She knew how organized Chris needed things to be, but seeing her focus and precision made her fall a little more. She stood there for a few seconds, watching Chris. She seemed so serene, so calm, and she was. Well, she was until she noticed something, or someone, move behind her. She assumed it was either Becky or Rose, so she ignored whoever it was. She took a moment to admire her work, but decided to refold the shirt a fourth time for good measure.

Tobin cleared her throat and took a step forward. “Do you need help with that?”

Her question went unanswered. Instead, Christen started humming a foreign melody. She smoothed the edges of her shirt and carefully placed it in the open drawer, making sure not to create wrinkles on the other ones. Seeing her progress was enough to draw a smile of satisfaction. There was nothing like a well ordered drawer. 

Tobin tried again, this time taking a few more steps foward. Before she could reach out to touch Chris’ shoulder, the curly haired girl spun around, fist balled, ready to swing.

“Whoa!” Tobin immediately jumped back and threw her hands in the air. 

Christen immediately relaxed when she saw who it was. “You scared the shit out of me, Tobs!” She took out her earbuds.

“I didn’t mean to startle you! Rose told me about some ‘system’,” Tobin used air quotes, “of yours, and not to interrupt you. I was trying to be subtle.”

“You failed, miserably,” Chris chuckled, setting her phone and earbuds on her bed. She walked towards Tobin with her arms open. 

“I missed you,” Tobin mumbled into Chris’ shoulder. It was overwhelming for both of them. They hadn’t seen each other in person for one year, nine months, three weeks, and a day. Not that either one of them were counting, of course. “I missed you, too.”

They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. Tobin definitely wasn’t thinking about how right Chris felt in her arms, or how easy it was to be with her. She definitely wasn’t thinking about how at peace she felt in that moment, or how warm and fuzzy her insides were. Christen definitely wasn’t thinking about...well, she wasn’t really thinking. She was savoring the moment, making sure to remember exactly how close she felt to Tobin. When they stepped back from each other, Christen remembered how years ago, Tobin and her did the same thing and felt the same feelings.

June 20th, 2012

Christen couldn’t breathe. The noise of the campfire dinner and celebration was overwhelming for her. She could barely handle eating in the mess hall, but at least that was just chatter and commotion. Out there, though, it was significantly worse. There were too many things going on at the same time, and it was way too much for her to handle. Too many people were having too many conversations. There were too many noises at the same time. She felt her chest tightening as her brain tried to focus on everything that was going on around her. She knew she had to get out, but she didn’t want to cause a scene. That was the last thing she needed. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the campfire in front of her, but it wasn’t working. She was squished in between Tobin and Kelley, who were having their own conversation around her. She tried and tried to ignore it, to push aside her rising anxiety, but it was only getting worse the longer she stayed there.

“I’m going to the bathroom!” She blurted out before abruptly rising from her seat and beelining it to the cabin she was staying in. She felt tears fall down her face as soon as she shut the door behind her. She walked straight to her bed and layed down, closing her eyes in an effort to calm herself down. She was shaking, more than she ever had before. She’d had panic attacks and anxiety attacks in the past, but she was having trouble fighting this one off. 

Tobin had only known Christen for a few weeks, but they connected almost immediately. It felt as if they had known each other forever. She couldn’t explain it, but the only word that came to mind was ‘natural’. She noticed that Christen was unusually quiet during the campfire dinner. She wasn’t the loudest -Kelley took the cake for that one-, but she was usually engaged in the conversation, whether that be by listening intently, or participating. But Tobin saw how Chris seemed to collapse into herself, and how hollow her eyes were. Chris was there, but she wasn’t. She seemed to be the only one who noticed how she ran to their cabin when she announced that she was going to the bathrooms. Obviously, she had lied. Tobin tried to give her a minute; maybe she’d be back soon. But as the minutes ticked by, she only grew more and more worried. 

“You think Chris is okay?” Tobin asked in the middle of their conversation, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Maybe the Teriyaki Chicken isn’t sitting well. I’m sure she’s fine. So, like I was saying-”

“I’ll be right back.” Tobin left Kelley and fast-walked to the cabin she shared with Christen.

Tobin’s gut was right- something was wrong. As soon as she walked in, Christen wiped her eyes and sat up. 

“Are you alright?” Tobin asked tenderly, keeping her distance just in case she was crossing a boundary.

Christen nodded, sniffling and sending Tobin a small smile. “I’m alright, sorry for running out like that.”

“Don’t apologize! I was just worried about you, that’s all,” Tobin said sheepishly as she looked at her shoes.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine,” Chris patted the space next to her. Tobin hesitently stepped forward and sat next to her friend. She didn’t know why her heart was beating so fast.

“I know we just met and everything, but I’m here for you, I promise.” Tobin gave her a soft smile, and Christen could’ve sworn that she felt her heart melt. 

“I appreciate that, I’m here for you, too. Thank you for checking on me, that’s very kind of you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no problem. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Christen looked at Tobin. “You would?”

The way she was looking at Tobin took her breath away. “Of course I would.”

They sank into each other’s kiss like they’d done it a million times before. Christen had kissed a few boys before, but kissing Tobin was so much better. She had heard about how kissing was supposed to feel like fireworks and electricity, and now she finally understood what they meant.

“Chris? You good?” Tobin asked, effectively bringing Christen back to reality. 

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. All good,” She chuckled nervously. She cleared her throat and took a step back. 

“Do you need help unpacking?” Tobin tried for the third time.

“No, no. I’m okay, thanks!” Christen went right back to her so-called system, the one that apparently people were talking about. 

Tobin disregarded what Chris said and grabbed a shirt. “How’ve you been folding these?”

Christen felt herself start to get a little flustered. “You really don’t have to.”

“It’s okay. So...what’re we gonna do about Kelley and Alex?” Tobin glanced at the shirts in the drawer to get an idea of how to fold them.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we both know they’ve been, you know...hooking up.”

“Learned that the hard way,” Christen scoffed, shaking her head.

“What do you mean?”

“I stumbled across some very, VERY explicit messages-”

“NONONO I DON’T WANNA KNOW THAT!” Tobin covered her ears.

“Yeah, it was gross. Here,” Christen grabbed the shirt out of Tobin’s hands. “I’ve got a certain way I like to fold these.”

“I was thinking...maybe we could try and get them together?”

“Tobs, they don’t like each other. Whatever they do, it’s no strings attached. Kelley’s told me this plenty of times, more times than I’d ever like to hear in my life.”

“I dunno, I think they’d be good together. It was just a thought.” Tobin shrugged.

“I think they’d be good together, too. Maybe it’d make Kelley shut up about it for once.”

“Hey, maybe that’s a sign! I’ll do some investigating on Alex’s side and I’ll report back.”

“I guess I have to do the same?” Chris stared at her shirt before deciding it passed inspection.

“Ideally, yes-”

Rose opened the cabin door and peaked her head in.

“Counselor Training’s about to start,” She said before leaving just as quickly as she came.

Tobin and Christen looked at each other. “Looks like your clothes are gonna hafta wait. Let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this. Definitely a nice break from all the frickin angst going on in Houses (which you should check out if you haven't).
> 
> I have a lot of stuff planned for this one, so stay tuned!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: thenathanshow.tumblr.com
> 
> Leave a comment, kudos, whatever you'd like, if you'd like. I love reading y'alls comments, they make my day :)
> 
> See you soon!


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